Run an advertising campaign showing Obama promising to make energy prices skyrocket and bankrupt the coal industry, over and over again. That will make his credibility plummet after today’s speech. Pass legislation making it illegal to shut down a power plant, unless it poses an immediate threat to safety or there is 100% replacement power coming on line. Democrats won’t be able to vote against that without paying a very high price.

Raising energy prices is the most regressive taxation I know of. The poorer you are, the harder you are hit by rising energy costs, and the more the poor suffer, the more the environment bears the brunt.